How I figure out if my non-verbal kid is really sick or crying wolf

 

“Boo Boo here, Boo Boo here,” he said. He pointed to his head and throat.

Check his temperature.

It’s 99.2 degrees. Ok. That is elevated. Not enough to keep him out of school.

“Boo Boo here, Boo Boo here, NO SCHOOL!”

Is he crying wolf? He has been known to. Rarely does he want to go to school. He is my child.

How is his behavior? How was he yesterday?

The morning was full of mini-meltdowns. Christmas vacation is a hard one to overcome, though. Transitioning from being at home to going back to school is always hard. Is that what’s going on?

Yesterday, was some good, some bad.

Was he bored? Did I do our home schedule correctly? He does mirror my mood, so, was I in a good mood?

Did he have a good night?

Yes. He did have a hard time waking up.

How do his eyes look?

They seem to be causing him trouble. Itchy and bothersome.

Any other clues?

He had a deep cough a couple of times in the night. It sounds like the one he had when he was diagnosed with strep a couple of weeks ago. We are all done with the antibiotic, so, is this a reoccurrence?

“Boo Boo here, Boo Boo here.”

I’ll call the school nurse. Maybe she will have good advice.

“Yeah. The flu is going around as well as a few other viruses. His temp isn’t over 100 degrees, so he can come to school, but with the elevated temp, I bet he is fighting something off.”

Ok. No school. My child may be sick. He may not be. Either way, I have to make the call.

Do I believe my kid?

Yes and No. I have not believed him before. I made him go to the doctor. Yep. He was sick. I hate being proven wrong.

Most kids do this. Some have perfected the technique of getting out of going to school. It is different with a non-verbal child. My son doesn’t have a lot of words. It is also the same as typical developers. He does have the ability to lie with confidence.

I’d rather him be pulling a fast one than to be sick. We shall see. The doctor will see us today.